1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a wall-vent controller for use in a livestock confinement building for the purpose of opening and closing wall-vents and thereby maintaining a constant temperature in the confinement building.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern practices of agriculture dictate that for maximum yield, livestock such as hogs should be reared in confinement buildings. These confinement buildings generally are unheated since the body heat of the densely packed livestock is usually adequate to maintain the temperature of the confinement building in the coldest months of the year. However, as the outside temperature of the environment increases from the coldest point of the year, it is necessary to open multiple wall-vents in the livestock buildings to allow the outside ambient air to enter the building to maintain the inside temperature at a constant and acceptable level. As the outside ambient temperature continues to increase in the course of the seasons, the wall-vents must be increasingly opened, both as to the frequency and as to the degree of the opening.
It has been the commonly accepted practice for a livestock owner to check the temperature of the building many times during the day. As the temperature in the confinement building decreases below an acceptable level, the livestock owner closes the wall-vents around the periphery of the confinement building to such a degree that the temperature is able to rise to an acceptable level. The livestock owner learns to open and close the wall-vents to just the right amount by experience. As the temperature in the confinement building increases beyond an acceptable level, the livestock owner must open the wall-vents to a greater extent to allow increased ventilation in the building to cause a decrease in the temperature to the acceptable level.
Naturally, the requirement of continually checking the temperature and adjusting the wall-vents by one's judgment based upon past experience is an annoying and time consuming task. It also is not a very accurate way of maintaining a constant temperature. The wall-vent closer of the present invention is designed to operate in conjunction with a thermal-pneumatic temperature control system for use in livestock confinement buildings. With the use of the wall-vent closer of the present invention and a thermal-pneumatic system whereby temperature is continuously sensed and in the event the temperature rises above or below a predetermined set level, a pneumatic system is actuated which pneumatically drives a pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly which is a part of the wall-vent closer of the present invention. The pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly actuates the wall-vent closer of the present invention to either open or close the wall-vents of the confinement building so that the temperature is allowed to rise or fall automatically to maintain the desired temperature level.